The Week in Review: June 24-28

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This week, Psychiatric Times® discussed a wide variety of psychiatric issues and industry updates, from updates on digital therapeutics for the treatment of schizophrenia to the potential of ketamine.

The Potential of Ketamine: Public Workshop and New Research Explores Uses

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In collaboration with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, is today hosting a hybrid public workshop on "Understanding Current Use of Ketamine for Emerging Areas of Therapeutic Interest." While ketamine is not approved for the treatment of depression or chronic pain, clinicians have shown increased interest in using it for these conditions.

To explore its potential, varied clinicians, researchers, and federal partners are set to present on topics such as the scope of ketamine use, including approved products and compounded products, for these emerging areas of therapeutic interest; potential safety concerns; and online promotion of and access to ketamine. Continue Reading

RE104: A Novel, Fast-Acting Psychedelic for Postpartum Depression

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The Anxiety and Depression Association of America Annual Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, in April 2024, showcased encouraging results from the first-in-human phase 1 study of RE104 in healthy adult participants.

The positive results of this study have served as the foundation for an upcoming phase 2 trial (the RECONNECT study; NCT06342310) of a single-dose subcutaneous RE104 administration in women suffering postpartum depression (PPD). The RECONNECT trial is set to begin recruiting in mid-2024. Continue Reading

Clinical Trials of Prescription Digital Therapeutics for Schizophrenia

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Schizophrenia, which affects 24 million individuals, or about 1 in 300, worldwide, is often associated with distress and impairment in social, educational, occupational, and other areas of everyday life. It is among the top 15 causes of disability worldwide, with an increased risk of premature mortality and high financial costs.

Social disability and social disconnection are common in individuals with schizophrenia. Yet, in spite of more than 50 years of drug discovery efforts, the antipsychotics that are currently available have limited efficacy against the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Continue Reading

Lifestyle Psychiatry: Evidence-Based Lifestyle Interventions for Mental and Physical Health

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Psychiatry has had multiple evolutions over time, from the incarceration of the “mentally insane” to the era of Freudian psychoanalysis to the discovery of psychotropic medications. Another potential evolution may be in the works with the research stemming from fMRI, connecting the brain-gut-microbiota system, and neuroplasticity. One such approach that has compelling data is lifestyle psychiatry.

Our psychiatric colleagues in Australasia and Great Britain have developed guidelines for using lifestyle interventions to prevent and treat mental illness and to alleviate suffering for subsyndromal states for overall well-being. Continue Reading

See more recent coverage from Psychiatric Times here. And be sure to stay up-to-date by subscribing to the Psychiatric Times E-newsletter.

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